Page 50 of Nolan
I don’t even bother to play it cool. I all but slide down the stairs. Laolao is awake, brewing tea after making a pot of coffee. The TV is on, playing the news, but it doesn’t register with me what’s being covered. Jessica is asleep on the couch with a blanket cast over her. Apollo is at the table, awake, but just barely. He looks at me wearily. “Hey, Mia."
“Hey. What’s going on? Where’s?—”
There he is. Standing in the corner of the kitchen with his head lowered and his eyes shut, is Nolan. At my approach, he slowly lifts his head and blinks, offering me a soft smile. “Good morning, Mia.”
“Morning,” I say in surprise, throwing my arms around his broad shoulders and giving him the tightest hug I can. He returns the favor, pulling me into a firm embrace. “What happened? What are you doing here?”
“He had an exciting night,” Apollo remarks with a light-hearted tone. “Playing hero.”
Nolan snorts. “I didn’t do anything. I just managed not to get my ass kicked.”
“Don’t listen to him, he’s being modest. He fended off a rogue police bot turned TerraPura.” Apollo points to the flat-screen TV as he nurses some coffee in his mug. “Look.”
I stare at the previously recorded livestream in shock, watching in horror as Nolan gets thrown through a wall and slams into a barricade. “Oh my god.” Then police begin firing, and I become even more upset at the thought of Nolan getting shot. “Oh my god, are you okay?” My hands move all over him as I look for wounds.
“I’ve already been to the doctor, so to speak.” Nolan chuckles. “Just a few scrapes. Nothing to be worried about. I’m all right.”
“And TerraPura didn’t hurt you? There’s nothing installed on you that’s bad?”
“Nothing at all. Clean bill of health.”
Nolan’s fine. He’s alive. He’s whole.
And he’s a hero.
Every ounce of me is completely wired and fired up, wanting nothing more than to take him upstairs with me. But I can’t do that with my family here. And just when I’m about to ask what the plan is, Apollo gets up out of his chair. “We stopped by so Jessica wasn’t up all night worrying, but we should get back to the station. Can’t leave the others alone for too long. Was just a late night of repairs for this big guy. Ready, Nolan?”
“I’m ready,” he says, looking down at me. “Text me?” he murmurs.
“I will.” I lean up and steal a kiss, which he gives me without concern for Apollo seeing. And to my brother’s credit, he doesn’t seem to care too much, although he shoots me a devilish look that reminds me of the times he teased me in my youth.
Yeah. Definitely getting teased for lovey-dovey shit later, even though Apollo turns into complete mush if Jessica so much as breathes in his general direction.
They’re out the door, and Laolao approaches me with tea. “Zaoshang hao, Miya,” she says in her soft voice. “You want some breakfast?”
“Yes, very much. Thank you, Laolao.” I glance at Jessica’s slumbering form on the couch. “Is she okay?”
“She is okay. She stayed up, watching the news,” Laolao says. There’s something beautiful and comforting about her Mandarin accent, the way she speaks deliberately and carefully. “She was worried about Nolan and Apollo. She didn’t want to wake you up.”
I wish she had, so I could’ve held her hand and comforted her through her worries and mine. I’m filled with such love for my family here in New Carnegie. How selfless Jessica can be. Letting her sleep, I promise myself that I’m going to treat her somehow. A girl’s night or something. Just the two of us, so she can relax. It won’t even begin to pay back everything she’s done for me, but it’ll be a start.
Feeling rather useless at the minute, I wander into the kitchen. “Can I help you cook, Laolao?”
“Of course. I’m making scallion pancakes today.”
“I’ve never made them before. Will you teach me?”
Laolao lights up and makes room for me at the kitchen island, walking me through each step carefully. Her demeanor is so different than my mother, whom I love to death, but who would definitely point out every place I went wrong and finally take over in frustration. “Can I ask you something?”
“You may.”
“When will your husband be back? Do you miss him?”
“Every day,” she says with a wistful smile. “But he’ll be back soon. And he always brings me a special gift from Taiwan.” She winks at me. “It’s his way of apologizing for being gone so long.”
“What does he usually bring you?”
“Oh, he used to bring me jewelry, but I have so much of it now, if I wore it all and went swimming I would sink to the bottom.” Laolao still has a youthful giggle. “So I told him several years ago, no more necklaces, rings, or bracelets! He has to think outside the box. It’s a challenge for him, but now, the gift is always a surprise.”
